Origination

It could well be that the new government refinancing program announced last week will turn out to be the turning point in the recovery of the home loan industry.

The mortgage insurance industry wrote $4.9 billion of new coverage in September, down $700 million from August, according to new figures compiled by the Mortgage Insurance Cos. of America. However, two private MIs—Republic Mortgage Insurance Co. and PMI Mortgage Insurance Co.—were ordered by their respective regulators to stop writing new business during August.

Bill McCue has run his family's mortgage banking shop for 35 years, but he says the best days are yet to come.

Last week I delivered a presentation to a mortgage lender group in Nashville, Tenn. As I scanned the audience I noticed something I have seen in nearly every group of mortgage professionals I have addressed lately; people are stressed, they are tired—and they aren't getting any younger.

Among the implications of litigation related to pay-option ARMs as of press time were potential liabilities that could affect how disclosure documents are drawn up, not only at the originator level but also for investors who buy loans through the correspondent channel.

The committees that have been filtering transaction proposals for Fitch Ratings since the first quarter of 2009 began registering their first formal rejections of global commercial MBS securities proposals during the third quarter.

Third-quarter earnings for the mortgage insurers and title insurers will show two industries heading in different directions, analysts from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods declared. They raised their operating earnings estimates for title insurers, who should have better-than-expected results for the third quarter as a result of refinancings.

A survey conducted by Zillow reveals that most homebuyers know how to purchase a house -- but their expectations for homeownership are out of line with reality.

Valley National Bancorp, Wayne, N.J., said its third-quarter profit rose 8.3% from the same period last year, as it made more real estate loans.

Investor demand for commercial real estate loan portfolios in boththe U.S. and Europe appear to be rising, but these are “two different markets right now,” according to one expert.